July 21, 2022
Action: Add additional days for recreational halibut fishing in Coastal Marine Areas and Puget Sound.
Species affected: Pacific halibut
Locations and effective dates:
Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco/Chinook) and Marine Area 2 (Westport):
Open six additional days: Friday, Aug. 19, Thursday, Aug. 25, Sunday, Aug. 28, Saturday, Sept. 3, Sunday Sept. 4, and Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, as long as there is sufficient quota remaining.
Effective immediately, through Sept. 28, 2022, the Marine Area 1 (Ilwaco/Chinook) nearshore area is open to fishing on a Monday-through-Wednesday schedule. Coordinates for the nearshore fishery are available at wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/halibut/columbia-river.
Marine Areas 3 and 4 (Neah Bay and La Push):
Open on Aug. 11 through Sept. 5, 2022, five days per week; Thursday through Monday. Open Sept. 6 through Sept. 30, 2022, seven days per week, as long as there is sufficient quota remaining.
Marine Area 5 (Sekiu) and Marine Areas 6 – 10 (Puget Sound):
Open Aug. 11 through Sept. 30, 2022, seven days per week, as long as there is sufficient quota.
Marine Areas 11 – 13 (Puget Sound): Closed
Rules (Marine Areas 1 – 10): Daily limit of 1 halibut per angler, with no minimum size limit. Annual limit of 4. All catch must be recorded on a WDFW catch record card. Possession limit of two fish per day in the field and one fish on a vessel.
Reason for action: Severe inclement weather on scheduled halibut days precluded or significantly reduced fishing effort. Substantial quota remains and adding dates in August and September supports progress towards attaining the Washington sport quota. This emergency rules revises state regulations so that they conform to federal regulations.
Additional Information: Recreational halibut is quota managed, days open are dependent on available quota and areas will close when the quota is projected to be taken.
WDWF encourages anglers to sign up for agency rule change email list to notified of any changes as soon as they are announced at https://wdfw.wa.gov/about/lists.
Information contact: Lorna Wargo, Intergovernmental Policy Coordinator, 360-581-5611